International Puzzle Day (13/07)

On one day in July, puzzle fans around the world celebrate a celebration dedicated to the invention that makes their lives brighter and more interesting. On July 13, they celebrate International Puzzle Day.

This date is timed to coincide with the birthday of Erno Rubik (Hungarian). Ernő Rubik) – is a Hungarian architect and designer born on July 13, 1944 and who gained worldwide fame for his invention, which he created in 1974.

While a teacher at the Academy of Applied Arts in Budapest, he, in search of an accessible way to explain one of the mathematical theories to students, came up with a set of 27 cubes, the edges of which had different colors. Suddenly it turned out that the invention patented by Rubik in Hungary was an exciting puzzle, the first batch of which was released in the inventor’s homeland in 1977. The original name of the puzzle toy sounded like «Magic cube».

This cube received its step towards world fame shortly after German entrepreneur Tibor Latzi saw it in one of the cafes. He, along with his friend, took on the commercial promotion of Rubik's invention. Through the efforts of T. Latsi and T. Kremer's license to produce the puzzle was purchased by Ideal Toy Corporation. This event took place in 1980. From that moment on, the puzzle, the name of which began to sound like the Rubik's Cube, began its victorious march around the world, selling out in millions of games.

The classic Rubik's Cube soon received a huge number of versions, differing in the number of elements (4x4x4, 5x5x5, 6x6x6, 7x7x7), shape, length of elements, etc.

This puzzle became not only popular, it gave rise to competitions that grew into international championships in high-speed assembly (speedcubing). Masters in their field, speedcubers compete in assembling a cube not only for speed, but also for speed with one hand, feet, and the number of moves.

International Puzzle Day, dedicated to the date of birth of the inventor, perhaps the most famous and popular puzzle in the world, however, is dedicated to any other type of puzzle, of which a great variety is played: oral (charades, riddles, etc.), with objects (with cards, matches, etc.), mechanical («Rubikah» Cube, «Tags», «Hanoi Tower», etc.), as well as printed (crossword puzzle, sudoku, scanword, rebus, etc.).).

At its core, the – puzzle is nothing more than a complex task that requires intelligence to solve. Scientists have repeatedly confirmed that when solving puzzles, a person uses both hemispheres of the brain, training memory, imagination, and attentiveness.



Infographics – poster «July 13 — International Puzzle Day»

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